Bit of a storm about Riki Wessels

[aydee]

I think there is pretty much no chance whatsoever of Riki Wessels playing for Zimbabwe. However, he's a decent player, and definitely a valuable acquisition for domestic cricket. With all the returning players, and the few foreigners who have signed, I reckon Zim domestic cricket might be the best standard it's ever been (with 5 teams).

[Train Driver]

I'm still pretty confused on this situation with Wessels, as of today there are no comments on the official Northamptonshire website about any problems at all.

He is shown on cricinfo, yes i know they do make the odd mistake , as an English player and his Cricket Archive record shows that he has never played for any Australian or South African side since he began playing cricket with his 2nd XI debut in 2004 and senior debut in 2005, both for Northamptonshire.

The most interesting bit to me is that he played a number of games for the Sri Lankan senior side Nondescripts Cricket Club between November 2007 and January 2008, if those appearances were ok then why should playing in Zim be any different ?

I expect that this may well be one of those 'blown out of proportion' stories that people love so much .....

[maehara]

It depends on how long you're out of the country for. Here's the relevant paragraph from the qualification rules:

A player who has resided for a minimum of 183 days in a Member Country in each of the 4 immediately preceding years shall be a ‘deemed national’ of that country for the purpose of these Rules.

So, to keep his English qualification going he needs to be in England for 183 days this year. If Zimbabwe is his only jaunt then he should be okay, but are there any other overseas trips that need to be taken into account?

Full rules are here.

[Train Driver]

I think you've hit the nail right on the head maehara, i've managed to contact a friend in Australia who has close ties to Northants through his sons, this is what he says.

"My understanding is that Riki is dual national (Aus/SA) and has been playing for Northants as a kolpak player. He is due to qualify as a resident of the UK (and i understood that this was a mere formality for next season) however there appears to be some cock up with his visa conditions (i think to qualify as a resident he has to spend a certain number of days in the UK, however he didn't quite spend the requisite number of days this year).

I believe the situation is very tricky, very legal and very fragile at the moment and negotiations are continuing with the Home Office".

[Train Driver]

On the BBC website today

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket ... 387547.stm